FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Coach Kalisto Pasuwa has attributed their Caf Champions League exit to a number of problems including lack of fair play and domestic fixture congestion.
The Zimbabwean gaffer spoke to journalists after his side bowed out of the continental showpiece following a 3-2 loss on aggregate to Red Arrows of Zambia on Saturday.
Bullets lost 2-0 at Heroes National Stadium in Lusaka in the second leg after they won 2-1 at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
However, Pasuwa, although he accepted that his charges were partly to blame for the exit, added that some external forces contributed to the team’s exit in the continental showpiece.
“Sometimes, we need fair play when we are playing football. We thought we had some fouls that could have been to our advantage but were not given to us.
“The same thing happens to us, they are given. The game is decided by something else, which does not go well in our African football in this Champions League. Let the better team of the day win. We know we missed a lot of chances but let us miss those chances and lose the game in a fair way,” Pasuwa said.
Probably, Pasuwa thought his side was treated badly by the officiating panel after Arrows were awarded what looked like a soft penalty, which captain Saddam Yusuf Phiri converted in the 65th minute. Some video replays show that Bullets defender Nickson Nyasulu did not make any contact with Arrows striker Ricky Banda.
In addition, Bullets had two penalty appeals turned down.
The first was in the first half when midfielder Lloyd Aaron appeared to have been fouled in the box before another incident involving substitute Ephraim Kondowe in the second half.
Pasuwa said the penalty demoralised his boys.
He also bemoaned fixture congestion, having played three matches in a space of seven days.
“We have been having problems at home and we had too many fixtures. We had a semi-final on Wednesday and we did not have much time to prepare for the game as the players were traveling and resting. We did our training session on Friday and played on Saturday. We need a lot of time to prepare for the games,” Pasuwa said.
Bullets defeated Moyale Barracks 3-1 in the semi-final of the FDH Bank Cup on Wednesday night before travelling to Zambia on Thursday.
Sports analyst Parry Chinyama concurred with Pasuwa on wrong officiating decisions.
“Some of the decisions by the officiating panel were questionable. But on fixture congestion, I think Pasuwa is complaining because he has a depleted squad due to injuries. Last season, he was able to rotate players,” Chinyama said.
Pasuwa’s comments come after analysts said his side was not ready to compete in this year’s Caf Champions League after struggling in domestic football.
Bullets Vice Captain Clyde Senanji said the team would switch its attention to domestic competitions.
“We bowed out of the Caf Champions League; we now focus on local competitions,” Senanji said.
On the domestic scene, Bullets trail leaders Silver Strikers by 19 points in the league but they have a game in hand.
Since he took over at Bullets in 2018, Pasuwa has failed to guide the team beyond the first preliminary round four times in five attempts.
Last year, he guided the team to the second round but lost 5-0 to TP Mazembe on aggregate.
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